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Just a chicken!

UofSC alumni Preston Thorne, Kev Roche and Langston Moore (left to right) have written
a children's book called "#JustaChicken."

Former Gamecock football defensive linemen Langston Moore and Preston Thorne knew
all about reading an opposing offensive line. Now they want families to spend more
time reading together.

To that end, Moore and Thorne, teamed up with fellow alumnus Kev Roche, a freelance
illustrator, to hatch the Gamecock-themed children’s book “#JustaChicken.”

“It’s based on an old parable that I had heard over and over, and we adapted it to
the Gamecock culture,” says Thorne, a former team co-captain who’s now a teacher and
coach at Blythewood High School near Columbia. “We put the message on the back of
the book: ‘This is the story of you; the story of me; the story of USC.’ ”

The two authors drew on some of their personal experiences to create the story and
the message.

“To me the story is somewhat synonymous with our experience in the football program,”
says Moore, who after graduation spent seven years in the NFL and is now the sideline
reporter for Gamecock football radio. He’s also co-creator of EAT2WIN, a camp devoted
to eliminating childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating and physical fitness.

“We had those seasons where we were a combined 1 and 21, but then it changed,” he
says. “I remember sitting in the locker room thinking ‘What do those other teams have
that we don’t have?’ We were searching for something and then we found a way to do
it, and the program got better.”

“We would love for all of the kids in South Carolina to read the book and identify
with it,” Thorne said. “We want moms and dads reading with their kids. We want kids
to spend more time with books in their hands instead of ‘screen’ time.”

“Education is important to us,” Moore said. “We talk a lot about that in camps. If
we can use our popularity as football players to talk about education, we’re all for
it.”

Roche is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer who works with ESPN on baseball-related
broadcasts. He jumped at the chance to work on a children’s book involving the Gamecocks.

“I always wanted to do a children’s book,” Roche said. “I think it’s a good story
with a good message about how everyone can play an important role.”

The book is being marketed through Mascot Books and can be found on Amazon.com. While
“#JustaChicken” has characters representing most of the Southeastern Conference mascots,
there’s still room for a sequel, Thorne and Moore say.

“We definitely have a couple of ideas for where we could take the story,” Thorne
added. “We can relate the stories we’ve been told in the past, but in a way kids can
better understand.”

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